The end after END
by SpeedyMomentum
Summary: After the turmoil and trials that Zeref brought them, things have settled. The town is quite, people have moved on, but the end is always drawing near.


Lucy browsed through the little market. She mentally checked off items that she needed as she put them in her her bag. One item after another, she did this every saturday, refilling the things she went through in a week. She nodded to the shop keeper, they both knew each other well enough. He even gave her a discount, every single time. Lucy wasn't sure if it was because of her situation or if it was because of her still very present good looks.

Either way she was happy for the discount. She moved on to the next stand, than the next, and then to the final one. Once she had everything paid for and packed away in her bag she started walking home.

Down the street, across the canal she stopped. The building that stood before her was much more worn than when she first came to Magnolia. There were cracks in the paint, chips in the door, broken roof tiles, but it still stood. But this was not Lucy's destination.

She patted the door frame, which she swore that it was only used by her and her landlady. None of her friends used it.

She continued on to her destination.

Down the street, down the small magic shop that was miraculously still in business, past the small cafe which had been rebuilt around eight times, finally to the edge of the city. She found the familiar stone path, eventually becoming dirt and winding up to a house.

Certainly an old house, more of a shack than a house. But it was comfy and the people who lived there were lovely.

Not needing a key she opened the door and walked inside. Shutting the door once she was in, she went directly to the kitchen. Putting the food away in the cupboards and shuffling around the house, putting everything where it needed to be. Toilet paper in the bathroom along with the soap, an extra log by the fireplace, tissues on the side table near the fire.

The house was quiet, nothing made a noise. Lucy sat in that quiet, thinking, preparing, she had a lot of these moments recently. The noise was broken by a soft sound of the door opening.

Out came a man, a man which Lucy loved very dearly. A friend who became best friend who became so much more, as shown by the ring on Lucy's hand, and a similar one on his.

He walked towards Lucy, giving her a soft smile. He had a mark on his face from where he was sleeping on his hand. That, combined with the wildly disheveled hair, made Lucy smile wide. They did this every Saturday. He would come out when she was done shopping, they would start a fire and sit in their chair, big enough for the both of them. He would rest back while she leaned on him, his arm around her while she took the book and read out loud.

He would ask questions, clarifying parts or asking about previous chapters. Lucy would answer each one patiently, speaking from memory, she did write the book after all. By now she knew every word, every paragraph, she knew the answer to any question Natsu would ask. It was a book of her adventures, _Finding Fairies_.

Once they were done Lucy would go make dinner while Natsu sat by the fire, usually simply enjoying the warmth. Even though sometimes he would write, or try to. Once dinner was made they would sit together and eat, enjoying whatever Lucy had made.

If you asked Natsu, Lucy could serve him a pile of sticks and it would be good, that's how good of a chef she was.

That was the Saturday routine. Every Saturday, no missing out. They had been keeping it up for a year now without a single week missed. Once dinner was done Lucy and Natsu went to bed.

Holding hands as they drifted off, sharing body heat, one of them certainly needed it. This night was different than normal, but it had happened before. Lucy had, what she and Natsu simply referred to as, the bad dream.

Unlike some dreams, this one was a memory, one Lucy wished was a dream. One day, three years ago.

 _Natsu stood, protecting Lucy from a blast of magic. The spriggan twelve defeated, the last one, August, certainly not going down without a fight. All that stood now was Zeref, Natsu's brother, creator of demons, orchestrator of destruction, immortal, and cursed to suffer with constant contradictions._

 _All three of them knew two truths. First, Natsu had the power to destroy Zeref once and for all. Second, he couldn't do that without ending his own life. Part of Zeref was disappointed by the first and joyed by the second, the other half was opposite._

 _The battle, between flames and death, between the breath of the dragons and the curse of the gods, was quick, violent, destructive and that fateful battle could have one winner or none._

 _Zeref was ready to die, having planned this from the beginning. He had created END, revived his younger brother, sent him to the future under the guise of defeating Acnologia. Who had been defeated just prior. A great force had risen and the Dragon of Chaos had finally fallen._

 _Now the final, decisive, fight was between Natsu and Zeref. Others unable to interfere._

 _Lucy watched all of it, every strike, blow, and block. She knew what was going to happen, she tried to warn him, prevent him from doing it. Every time she saw this she felt like a piece of her soul broke, it broke when he broke his._

 _He pulled out his own soul, his core, his magic, his memories, his adventures. He destroyed END, he blew it apart._

 _Every enchanter can feel when an enchantment is broken or damaged, the bigger ones can have backlashes. END had stored up and collected so much power, when it was destroyed it was sent directly back to the caster._

 _Zeref's body was cursed, his magic changed. But at a base level, his soul was still there. It was overloaded, completely obliterated. END's true power, the power of killing gods consumed Zeref from the inside out._

But that's where the dream always stopped. She would wake up, shaking as hard as Natsu beside her. She would get out of bed and make her way to the chair. Lighting the fire and reaching for Finding Fairies, then she would read till dawn. Calmed by the adventures of her and Natsu. Their story, she would laugh and smile and cry. Remembering fondly the adventures, all crystal clear in her head.

She had read that book a great number of times, most of them to Natsu. The questions he would ask would be about his own life. His own adventures. His story was not one he could remember.

After she was done reading she would go and get back in bed, cuddling with Natsu. During that time, memories would flood back. Before Fairy Tail. Seeing Natsu in this state reminded her of her mother, Layla Heartfilia. Lucy had learned that she had done something similar to Natu's, used her own soul to open a gate of time. She ended up dying because of magic deficiency disease.

Natsu was not much better. END was a part of him, by destroying the beast is started a slow disintegration of the soul. First went his strength, than his magic, than his mind. He could not remember simple things, his once brilliant bonfire of dragon flames was now no better than a match, his strength, which had once tipped a metal dragon, could barely support his body as he walked around the house.

As much as anyone denied the truth, it was ever present. Natsu's days were numbered, and that date was approaching fast.

Not a week later, that day had come. Even though it was expected it still shook the world. The news spread like the wildfire he once caused. He had done so much for the kingdom, the world even. The Queen certainly tried to repay the debt.

A large funeral, bigger than the old king's had been even. Thousands, if not millions attended. Each knew his story, each knew of what he did and each had a deep respect.

The casket, embroidered in gold and ruby, marked with the symbol of Fairy Tail, a great dragon behind it, was marched to the grave by some of his closest friends, those who could hold it together enough to do it.

Gray took a corner, called from his demon eradication mission up north. Even his icy stature could not hold together, it cracked.

The great general Erza took another, coming from the middle of battle, obliterating a field of enemies single handedly to get there on time. The armor she had built up over the years stood no chance, tears streaming from both eyes.

Gajeel, the iron dragon took the third corner. His steely face was certainly strong, only allowing a single tear to come through.

The last corner was held by Romeo. His inspiration was now gone but he would not falter, he would grow as Natsu would've.

Leading the casket was Gildarts, his practically adopted son had took a part of his heart to the grave with him.

Behind the casket was the rest of Fairy Tail, the veterans leading the group. Some were missing, either perished or mourning. Mixed in were the guilds that he had helped, they brought flags, each topped with a fairy and each lowered in respect.

Once the casket was buried, the grand tomb carefully watching over it, the Queen had given a speech. She gave it in front of the headstone, which spanned high and wide. She recalled his adventures and what he did for everyone.

The headstone itself told some of the story. There was a great dragon and at it's heart was a man with wild pink hair, bellowing a challenge to the sky. On his right and left were the symbols of Fairy Tail, proudly shining, he would not have it any other way. Where the dragon stood were the demons of hell, the corrupt wizards of the worlds, the greatest evils that the world had seen, all emerging from a book and all being squashed under the great beast.

It was inspiring, magnificent, but also depressing, for such a great good had been lost.

Lucy had not attended the grand funeral. She was having one of her own. Behind the house stood three people and two cats. All had tears in their eyes. Lucy stood next to Wendy, who had grown into a lovely young woman. They hugged as the exceeds lowered the simple coffin into the ground, unlike the one in the capital, this one had the real body of Natsu Dragneel in it, the other was empty.

Once in the ground, the other man magically moved dirt on top of the coffin and quietly left to allow them to deal with their grief. Lucy was quiet, having pictured this day in her head a thousand times, but she was still not prepared. Wendy was holding it together well. She had always promised Natsu that she would be strong.

Lucy read the grave once more _Here lies Natsu Dragneel, beloved husband, dragon slayer, proud friend. Off to the eternal adventure._

Wendy guided Lucy back into the house, Leo waiting for her inside. They gave soft words and comfort. It was all they could do.

Than as Wend touched Lucy's shoulder, she gasped, dropping the cup of water she had been holding. Both Leo and Lucy turned to Wendy, neither saying anything.

Wendy took a shaky breath as she looked Lucy straight in the eye, saying. "Lucy, there's two souls inside of you! You're pregnant!"

* * *

This was a birthday fic for three of my friends on Tumblr. (You can find that in my profile) I hope you enjoyed!


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